Awl attachment for screw drivers



June 20, 1950 L. A. WIELAND AWL ATTACHMENT FOR SCREW DRIVERS Filed Nov. 1, 1946 Patented June 20, 1950 A g 'rrAcnM'nN r on sonnw DRIVERS Louis 'A'. wean, Pittsburgh, Pa. "Application November 1, 1946, Serial No. 707,071

My invention relates and consists in a screw driver equipped with a device for use informing a hole for, the starting or reception of a screw nail to'be driven.

Devices, of this sort have hitherto been pro- 1 posed, but. they have either been too costly, or have'been too slow and awkward in manipulation. More particularly, my invention consists in certain new and useful improvements in such a device which may be economically produced and applied to screw driversof existing types,

and which may be readily slid upon the shank of a screw driver between a position where it is serviceable for drilling a hole and a position where it is out of the way, to permit of normal use of the screw driver.

The invention will be understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a View in side elevation of a screw driver of conventional form, equipped with a device of my invention, the device being shown in position for drilling;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the screw driver as seen on a plane extending at ninety degrees to the plane of view of Fig. 1, and showing the device to larger scale but in the service position shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view comparable with Fig. 2-, showing the device removed from service position;

Fig. 4 is a view, as seen at ninety degrees from Fig. 3, and showing the device fully removed into inactive position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, on the plane V-V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the drilling bit of the device; and

Fig. '7 is a sectional view on the plane VII-VII of Fig.4.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a slide upon the shank 2 of the screw driver the device of the invention is to serve. The slide advantageously comprises an arm or strap 3 of spring steel provided at one end with means, in the form of spring clips 4 integrally constructed with the arm 3, for slidably and rotatably engaging the device to the shank 2, while at the opposite end of the spring arm 3 a drill bit 5 is secured. The drill bit is formed of tool steel, including a pointed and sharp cornered awl portion, and a head portion including a recess or kerf 5 to receive the tip of the screw driver, as will presently appear. The bit-supporting end of the arm 3 is fashioned into a U-shaped portion 1 in which the head portion of 2 Claims. (Cl. 1451)- to the driving of screws,

2' l the drill bit is received, and secured by means or a pivot in 8, it being noted'that the pivot pin 8 provides an articular joint between the pointed and recessed portions of the bit, to provide for such slight angular movement or the bit relatively to the spring" arm as may be necessary for'the bit-toalig'n itself with the axis of the screw driver 'shank'when arranged in drilling position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. "The U-shaped portion 1 of the arm 3 is notched adjacent to the base of recess'ii in the bit or awl 5, whereby the tip 9 of the screw driver provides a rigid integration of the pivoted awl in service, as will be understood upon considering Fig. 2.

The drilling device is reciprocable upon the shank of the screw driver, whereby the device may be readily adjusted in service position, with the tip 9 of the screw driver nested tightly in the recess 6 in the bit. In such position the bit is firmly secured in axial alignment with the shank of the screw driver, it being noted that the spring clip 4 in such service position wedges upon the shank of the screw driver in the region l0 (Fig. 1) where it flares to the flattened portion II on which the tip 9 is formed. This wedging action is a feature of the design and proportioning of the device, and is valuable in insuring the security of the device in service position.

The manner in which the screw driver may be manipulated to cause the bit 5 to form a starting recess or a hole in the body in which a screw is to be driven hardly needs description. The point of the bit 5 is simply spotted at the point where a screw is to be driven; then, with the screw driver held in normal position over such point, the screw driver is pressed and turned, after the manner that an awl is manipulated. The sharp cornered, pyramidal pointed bit 5 of tool steel quickly forms the desired hole, whereupon the drilling device is moved from service position into inactive position (Figs. 3 and 4), in which it is out of the way to permit of the conventional use of the screw driver in driving the screw.

The readiness with which the device may be shifted between service and inactive positions is a feature of great practical value, since the user loses no appreciable time in his work; it is merely necessary to shift the device forward on the shank 2 until the screw driver tip 9 is free of the recess 6; then the arm 3 is pressed laterally, the elongate form and resilience of the arm 3 readily permitting this movement, and then the device is slid rearwardly 0n the shank 2, into the position in which it is shown in Fig.

3. Indeed, the device is usually moved further rearwardly on the shank 2 than Fig. 3 indicates, but this is a matter of choice with the user. In any position into which the device is removed from engagement with the tip 9, it is important to note that the spring arm 3, by virtue of its inherent elasticity, operates to clamp the bit 5 snugly against the screw driver shank, and Figs. 1 and 7 illustrate a depression l2 prvided in the body of the bit, to provide for this desiredsnug engagement with the shank. Fig. 4 illustrates that when the device has been removed on the shank to a point where the bit 5 lies beyond the broadened portion H of the :shank, the entire 3 device may be rotated through 90 degrees, and greatest compactness or closest engagement of the bit with the shank obtained. ,In.this. position the pointed end of the bit is screened or guarded by the flared portion of the screw driver shank;

Various modifications and changes may be :made in'the exemplary structure-illustrated and described herein, without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim: 1 r

1. For assembly with a screwdriver, a-device :for forming a. hole 'for the start of 'a screw ,-to be driven comprising 'an arm, means for-slidrabiy securing said arm totheshan'k-ef ascrew driver, a flangegportion ion-said arm, a pyramidal [sharp-cornered awl-secured to :said flange portion on said arm, said awl and the adjacent flange portion of said arm being recessed to receive the tip of the screw driver, with the awl positioned in alignment with the axis of the screw driver shank, said arm being reciprocable on said shank for disengaging the'awl from said tip and moving the awl into position against said shank, with the point of the awl directed toward the screw driver tip.

2. A .devicefor attachment'to a screw driver ,comprising an elongate springarm flanged at one end and provided at opposite end with means for slidably engaging the shank of a screw driver, and arrawl pivoted to the flanged end of said arm, said flanged end of said arm and said aw! being-recessed to receive the tip of said screw .dri ver, withzthe.pivot joint between the awl and the arm located between the point of the aw] and tip receiving recess therein.

LOUIS A. WIELAND.

- :REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record'in the fileofthis patent:

UNIT ED STATES PATENTS .Number Name Date 384,043- Ki-blinger June 5, .1888 I 1,843,135 Kuh-lman Feb. 2, 193 2 2,069,108 Kuhim-an Jan. 26, 193-? 2,242,873 Thompson n May 20, 1941 

